What is the Storyboard of a Video?

Since the last 20 years, video has become the main tool to promote the products, the services, and the brands of corporations. Indeed, according to Wordstream, companies which use video in their marketing strategy grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.

Consequently, millions of videos are created every day. However, few become viral with their viewers because they don’t reach their goals, their targets, and their objectives. Yet, an excellent video needs to have an upstream storyboard to be successful. This article will show you how to make a simple storyboard video to make the most of your corporate videos.

What is a video storyboard (sometimes called whiteboard)?

The storyboard is one of the most critical steps of the pre-production of your animation. It is a tool which looks like a comic strip and sketches (and a drawing made with a pencil in each square) all the different scenes of the video you will share with your viewers. These squares replace slides in a powerpoint presentation.

Each storyboard frame shows the characters, the dialogues, the visuals, the text and the graphics which will appear on the screen. All scenes are described as images, in a simple storyboard, easy to understand for marketers and other colleagues.

A storyboard generally helps you to erase inconsistencies between your script and your videos. Therefore, you can edit out the scenes which don’t work for the narrative you want to create with your video.

Why is a storyboard important for your videos or any film?

A video storyboard is important for many reasons.

The storyboard is a central document for any viewer in charge of the creation of your video

Indeed, the storyboard enables you to gather all the data you need to create a powerful video: staging, plan, characters, voiceovers, animations, logo, intro/outro, dialogues, music, subtitles…

The storyboard enables the creative teams to work in a single direction

Thanks to the storyboard, the teams can easily understand what is expected in the video. Moreover, you are able to create punchlines and dialogues that you can share with your creative teams for their feedback.

The storyboard helps you to allocate your budget effectively

Since most errors are detected during the storyboarding phase, this allows companies to save time, money, and effort that can disrupt the production phase.

The storyboard helps you to determine the length of your video

The storyboard is a useful tool to organise the shots. Generally, commercial videos last between 15 and 60 seconds. In this case, the storyboard helps you to tell your storey in the allocated timeframe.

4 simple steps to create a storyboard

Do you think that you need to be a very talented artist to create a storyboard? Then, you are wrong. You can create a storyboard very easily with the 4-step process described below.

Step #1: Plan your video

At this stage, you will clarify several elements before visualising your video:
• your objectives
• the key message you want to convey to your viewers
• the length of your video
• the platforms where your video will be shared according to your marketing strategy

Step #2: Visualise your script, where each scene is a square with drawings

At this stage, you can draw your storey. You will identify:
• the key characters
• the moment when your characters appear in the storey
• the theme of your video
• the setting and backdrops

• the length
• dialogue
• cuts
• action
  • the order of your different sequences and scenes
  If you are not a talented drawer, don’t worry! You can use a storyboard software with ready-to-use templates, such as Pitchy or Canva.

Step #3: Add script and additional notes for each scene and cuts

Under each storyboard frame, you can write down the description of the action, the dialogues between the characters, as well as additional notes such camera angles or special effects to be used.

Step #4: Review your storyboard with every scene

Before going to your video production, you’ll need to review your storyboard to detect any error. You can also seek the input of your creative team to add new ideas, if need be.

Contact Pitchy today to create your storyboards

Do you want to create an effortless template video storyboards? Do you want to see a storyboard example? Then, Pitchy is the tool you need to create your storyboards before your video production. Besides offering a dedicated storyboard software, Pitchy will give you specific storyboard templates for your testimonials, your FAQ, and your dilemmas (Fast and Furious interviews).
Are you interested in Pitchy’s features (tool, images, details, guide and other transitions or tools) to create your storyboards? Then, feel free to ask for a demo for a great example.